Prop 15/3 (Base-Gym) - Welcome to the Elite Four: Format & Metagame Introduction

Update 2024.10.10: This blog has migrated to https://retrotcgs.com/wotc-retro-pokemon/ .

Please find my most up-to-date Prop 15/3 lists in the metagame page and my active lists page. Thanks!

Prop 15/3 - The Pinnacle of Kanto Region Retro Pokemon Trading Card Game (Wizards of the Coast Era)

(Updated Sept. 28, 2024 - updated metagame lists. I plan on continuously updating and restructuring this blog for the foreseeable future; feel free to share any ideas or comments!)

After getting the itch to play WotC-era Pokemon TCG and reading Jason Klaczynski's blog, I fell down the rabbit hole of (Base-Gym) Prop 15/3. (Note: Jason’s blog is mandatory reading before proceeding!) I've been playing for about 9 months at the point of writing the follow musings (mostly on webcam and on TCGOne Career mode) and believe that I have a sense of the most competitive decks. It's my intent to explore through this blog how a competitive, mass-adopted Prop 15/3 metagame may have developed given enough time (and share those findings for another interested in trying the format)! Before talking tier lists and deck lists, let's start with how the deck-building rules, available Trainers and Pokemon influence game play.

While Pokemon decks are always defined by their mix of trainers and 'Mons, Prop 15/3's restriction to 15 trainers and maximum copy of 3 non-Basic-Energy cards per deck puts heavy emphasis on each Trainer in a deck: the opportunity cost of playing one is always not playing another.

Viable decks are defined by hitting a basic level of consistency to execute their gameplay, primarily defined by Trainers included and then supplemented by the Pokemon included. From this perspective, Computer Search, Professor Oak, Pokemon Trader and (to a lesser extent) Misty's Wrath, Secret Plan, Computer Error, Erika, Erika’s Maids, Bill, Sabrina's Gaze and/or Nightly Garbage Run are the glue that is required to hold many decks together. 

On the other hand, PlusPower, Gust of Wind, Super Energy Removal, Energy Removal, Pokemon Center, Scoop Up, Chaos Gym, Item Finder and Lass are among the strongest disruptive Trainers to be included over consistency-boosting Trainers. Decks that can time playing disruptive Trainers for maximum efficacy will win games that otherwise seemed even or unwinnable. 

One key is powering up a deck to be competitive in the metagame is determining how to play the least amount of efficiency-boosting Trainers so that more disruptive Trainers can make it in a deck. Haymaker or Stall decks showcase the easiest approach to playing less consistency Trainers: play barely any evolution lines and include many redundant basics.

(Take a deeper dive into Prop 15/3 and the roles of Trainers here!)

What separates Prop 15/3 from Base-Gym is the many unique Pokemon and combinations there-of that are competitive within the format! The following interactive Pokemon's Powers help to define the metagame of Prop 15/3: 

• Energy-related: Electrode, Venusaur, Blastoise
• Retreat effects: Dodrio, Dragonite
• Lock strategies: Dark Vileplume, Aerodactyl, Muk
• Defensive damage manipulation: Mr. Mime, Alakazam, Slowbro
• Aggressive combat effects: Gengar, Brock’s Ninetales,
• Disrupting active: Erika's Victreebel, Team Rocket Drowzee

In addition to the usual pre-Neo suspects mentioned by Jason (Mewtwo, Electabuzz, Rocket’s Zapdos, Wigglytuff) and those Pokemon highlighted in the above Pokemon Power summary, Prop 15/3 is also defined by Pokemon:

• that offer extra consistency (Kangaskhan, Brock's Zubat, Erika's Clefairy, Koga's Pidgey, Dark Dragonair, Dark Dragonite, Fossil Slowpoke),
• have very strong, one energy (or single DCE) attacks (Clefable, Lt. Surge's Raticate, Erika's Jigglypuff, Hitmonchan, Fossil Magmar, Lickitung),
• spread damage to bench (both Articuno, Dark Raichu, Brock’s Golbat),
• or offer disruptive abilities on attacks (Dragonair, Brock's Mankey, Blaine's Charmander, Fossil Psyduck, Sabrina's Gengar).

There are many Pokemon that can compete in the metagame of Prop 15/3 beyond the above groups. They generally having good stats (like Lapras), have a key type resistance (like Brock's Sandslash against Rocket's Zapdos), have free retreat (like Scyther) and/or have important amount of damage when hitting weakness (like Brock's Mankey or Brock's Diglett against Wigglytuff).

(A deeper dive into Prop 15/3 and the possible roles of Pokemon will be linked here eventually!)

Update: Brew City Old-School Showdown featured almost 20 players battling 15/3, but it is my understanding that very few competitors worked on new decks (or tested if they brought a deck not on Jason's blog). It is my opinion that the event should not bolster the current iteration of Blaine's Rapidash / Wigglytuff as the top deck of the format, as it should lose to more combat-focused Wigglytuff with Dodrio decks or more consistency-focused decks that leverage Big Basics.

So with the above in mind, my view of the late-2024 metagame (deck archetype pages with lists linked) is as follows:

(Find my personal deck lists maintained here.)

Tier 1: Haymaker (Wiggly and/or Dodrio), DarkDragonmaker

See an in-depth exploration into Haymaker and its variants

Tier 1.5: Aerodactyl, Bug Catcher

See more information on Bug Catcher

Tier 2: Muk & Wiggly, Gengar & BroBats, Stall, Dark Dragon Wiggly

Tier 2.5: VenuCenter Box, StepIn Rain Dance 

See an in-depth exploration into Rain Dance

Possible Competitors (for which I've yet to find lists I like): ErikaBox (Erika's Maids-based Toolbox), Slowpoke/Slowbro, Brock's Ninetales, Sabrina's Kadabra, Dark Vileplume, Buzzap, Dark Raichu, Potpourri (Weakness-exploiting Basics), Medicate (Lt. Surge's Raticate & Mr. Mime), Alakazam

Haymaker and similar Big Basics decks dominate due to their ability to play multiple Gust of Wind and Super Energy Removal (as well as other disruptive Trainers and hefty dose of Item Finders). The Big Basic strategy is its own form of consistency: each Pokemon drawn operates effectively with just an energy or two. Also, Rocket's Zapdos and Electabuzz are a tyrannical pairing (making Clefable one of the better Evolutions with its ability to one-attack KO the Rocket's Zapdos and hit other bruisers for a single energy).

Haymaker is rivaled by decks with hard-hitting evolutions (and the Pokemon Powers they wield) along with type resistance and toolbox approaches. Dragonite, Blastoise and Venusaur are three Pokemon that support an effective game plan against Big Basics and disruptive Trainers. Dark Dragonair and Dark Dragonite open up playing specific answers with niche application.

And the evolution-based and/or toolbox decks have to contend with the lock strategies: high amounts of Energy Removal, Muk, Aerodactyl and Dark Vileplume. Muk may also be included in decks that take more of a Big Basic approach (at the cost of making those decks slightly worse against other Big Basic decks).

The Prop 15/3 metagame is still evolving and there is a lot of room for exploration. I hope to share my journey testing decks and ideas in further posts and updates to this blog. Enjoy brewing and battling!